Courts to consider New Mexico redistricting

SANTA FE (AP) - New Mexico is not alone in having difficulty with the politically important task of redistricting.

For a preview of what could end up happening in New Mexico, look across the state border to Texas or go farther West to Oregon.

In Texas, redistricting has fallen to the courts because the Legislature failed to approve any plans. In Oregon, the governor and Legislature couldn't agree on new congressional districts.

New Mexico faces the prospect of having courts decide the shape of new congressional, legislative and state Board of Education districts. It could become more clear in the next few days how judges will handle redistricting in New Mexico.

A state court in Santa Fe has scheduled a "status conference" on redistricting lawsuits on Monday. That could determine a timetable for how the judge will proceed.

A panel of three federal judges holds a hearing Wednesday in Albuquerque to consider whether to give the Legislature another chance to work on redistricting or have the court move ahead with a pending lawsuit.

"There is nothing surprising about what has taken place in New Mexico. It very much fits the pattern," says Tim Storey, a redistricting analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures.

States having the most difficulty with redistricting, he says, are those with a divided government, like New Mexico.

Republican Gov. Gary Johnson vetoed plans passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature for new boundaries of congressional, House and Senate and Board of Education districts. Johnson signed a bill for redistricting the Public Regulation Commission, which regulates utilities and other industries.

Redistricting is the once-a-decade task of adjusting district boundaries for population changes reflected in the decennial census.

The goal is to equalize populations in districts to comply with the legal doctrine of "one person, one vote."

Republicans and Democrats see redistricting as a way to gain or preserve influence during the next decade. The boundaries of a district can be drawn so the demographics and voting behavior of its residents favors candidates from one party.